Belgian bluebells are too beautiful to see during pandemic

When nature is at its brightest this year, it needs to be hidden from sight.

Parks and woods in Belgium, like in much of Europe, are a riot of color and scents in springtime, many so magnificent they would draw far too thick a crowd in the times of a pandemic.

So some are closed, or parking areas are off limits and non-locals are banned from visiting. Many tourists are sent back and some are even fined if they won’t take no for an answer.

Bluebells, also known as wild Hyacinth, bloom in the Hallerbos forest in Halle, Belgium, Thursday April 16, 2020. Bluebells are particularly associated with ancient woodland where it can dominate the forest floor to produce carpets of violet–blue flowers. (AP PhotoVirginia Mayo)

The extraordinary measures are felt deeply as bluebells are in bloom in the Hallerbos forest, some 15 kilometers (10 miles) south of Brussels. In a good year, up to 100,000 tourists come to gaze in wonder at its vast purple carpet under the beech trees.

“This pains the heart badly,” Halle mayor Marc Snoeck told the Associated Press. “This goes against anything that we normally work for.”

During the annual April Bluebell Festival, the throngs on weekends or sunny days are so big that social distancing would become impossible along the walking paths. During their three-week stretch of flowering, the bluebells attract tourists from as far as China and the United States.

In this zoom effect with slow shutter speed, The sun rises through the trees as Bluebells, also known as wild Hyacinth, bloom in the Hallerbos forest in Halle, Belgium, on Thursday, April 16, 2020. Bluebells are particularly associated with ancient woodland where it can dominate the forest floor to produce carpets of violet–blue flowers. (AP PhotoVirginia Mayo)

Now, a local can walk there, soaking in the morning scents almost alone at dawn, while in normal years photography fans would already be blocking the best views and cyclists whizzing by.

Paradoxically, Snoeck appreciates the lack of crowds.

“Up to now, it has been pretty well respected,” he said of the measures, insisting the medical needs trump any other consideration.

In this zoom effect with slow shutter speed, Bluebells, also known as wild Hyacinth, bloom in the Hallerbos forest in Halle, Belgium, on Thursday, April 16, 2020. Bluebells are particularly associated with ancient woodland where it can dominate the forest floor to produce carpets of violet–blue flowers. (AP PhotoVirginia Mayo)

The bad news for visitors is good news for the bluebells themselves. Ever more, they get trampled by tourists during the season, and many of them don’t recover for the next year. Now, the fragile flowers stay intact.

For Halle, the town of 30,000, though, it makes the coronavirus crisis even more painful as it is one of those festivals impossible to postpone. To rub it in, the weather has been unusually warm. The economic cost especially hits bars and restaurants, Snoeck said.

In town, the chocolatier Marleen Van Volsem of Praleen usually makes a popular line of bluebell chocolates with purple berry fillings.

Bluebells, also known as wild Hyacinth, bloom in the Hallerbos forest in Halle, Belgium, on Thursday, April 16, 2020. Bluebells are particularly associated with ancient woodland where it can dominate the forest floor to produce carpets of violet–blue flowers. (AP PhotoVirginia Mayo)

“There usually is a dip after Easter, so the festival was great timing. Now, we can’t do it,” van Volsem said.

There is one solace though, Snoeck said.

“We are 100 percent sure that the flowers will be back next year.”

The sun begins to rise through the trees as Bluebells, also known as wild Hyacinth, bloom in the Hallerbos forest in Halle, Belgium, on Thursday, April 16, 2020. Bluebells are particularly associated with ancient woodland where it can dominate the forest floor to produce carpets of violet–blue flowers. (AP PhotoVirginia Mayo)

DODOMA, Tanzania (AP) — Tanzania’s president has, for the first time since the disputed October election, commented on a six-day internet shutdown as the country went through its worst postelection violence.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday expressed “sympathy” to diplomats and foreign nationals living in the country, saying the government would strive to ensure there is never a repeat of the same.

Hassan won the October election with more than 97% of the vote after candidates from the two main opposition parties were barred from running and the country’s main opposition leader remained in prison facing treason charges.

Violence broke out on election day and went on for days as the internet was shut down amid a heavy police crackdown that left hundreds of people dead, according to rights groups.

Hassan blamed the violence on foreigners and pardoned hundreds of young people who had been arrested, saying they were acting under peer pressure.

Speaking to ambassadors, high commissioners and representatives of international organizations on Thursday in the capital, Dodoma, she sought to reassure envoys of their safety, saying the government would remain vigilant to prevent a repeat of the disruption.

“To our partners in the diplomatic community and foreigners residing here in Tanzania, I express my sincere sympathy for the uncertainty, service restrictions and internet shutdowns you experienced,” she said.

Hassan defended her administration, saying the measures were taken to preserve constitutional order and protect citizens.

“I assure you that we will remain vigilant to ensure your safety and prevent any recurrence of such experiences,” the president told diplomats on Thursday.

Tanzania has, since the October elections, established a commission of inquiry to look into the violence that left hundreds dead and property worth millions of shillings destroyed in a country that has enjoyed relative calm for decades.

Foreign observers said the election failed to meet democratic standards because key opposition figures were barred.

FILE - Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan delivers remarks during a campaign rally ahead of the general elections in Iringa, Tanzania, Oct. 5, 2025. (AP Photo, File)